


Simply Snufkin

by VoidofRoses



Category: Mumintroll | Moomins Series - Tove Jansson, 楽しいムーミン一家 | Moomin (Anime 1990)
Genre: Gen, Moominmamma Knows, don’t ask how she just does, genderfluid snufkin, starting Pride month with some genderfluid/trans Snufkin and supportive Moominmamma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-02
Updated: 2019-06-02
Packaged: 2020-04-06 13:52:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19063990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VoidofRoses/pseuds/VoidofRoses
Summary: Snufkin was simply Snufkin. He hadn’t bothered telling anyone any different, and he got the feeling that they would simply shrug their shoulders and say “Okay”.





	Simply Snufkin

**Author's Note:**

> well I must say this STARTED OUT as something for Mune, but quickly turned into its own thing. I can’t get enough of writing genderfluid/trans!Snufkin, so have another drabble and some motherly touch with Moominmamma

Moominmamma was one of the few authority figures that Snufkin trusted.

She had welcomed him into their home with open arms and a smile, a warm cup of coffee and meals when the fish just weren’t biting and foraging wasn’t happening. Always with a kind word about someone, even someone as finicky and haughty as Ms Fillyjonk. Snufkin was quite sure she saw spiders in the house and took them outside rather than squash them with a rolled up newspaper.

On this day, though, Snufkin was caught off guard when the sky suddenly opened up and it started pouring with summer rain. Packing up his fishing tools and placing them inside his tent before zipping up the flaps, he paused, feeling the rain on the brim of his hat as he looked over his shoulder. It took him a few minutes of pondering, and he made his way to Moominhouse.

Moominmamma must have been watching him from the windows because she opened the door when he reached the porch, gesturing him inside. “Come in, come in. Oh you must be soaked.”

“Thank you, Moominmamma.” Snufkin paused at the doorway and shook himself dry as she stepped away to move further into the house, holding her hands out. He blinked before realising she meant to take his coat and hat, and shrugged, handing his hat and scarf over before pulling his coat off over his head. Snufkin felt his undershirt ride up, and when he pulled his head out, he saw Moominmamma staring at him with pursed lips and a small frown before she took it and hung it up on the coat rack for him, as well as his hat.

Looking around as he entered the house, Snufkin blinked when he wasn’t immediately rammed down by a ball of white fur and turned his head to look at Moominmamma. “Are Moomin and Moominpappa not here?”

“They went on a fishing trip early this morning in the boat,” she confirmed, wandering into the kitchen. “I believe Little My was visiting Snorkmaiden as well.”

Ah. So it was just them. Snufkin’s cheeks burned pink as he scratched one of them with his paw, awkwardly taking a seat. “I’m sorry for intruding.”

“Oh it’s no problem.” She came back in, holding two cups of coffee and coming over, handing one to him. Mamma gave him a smile, ever gentle and maternal. “I quite like your company myself, Snufkin.”

He took hold of the coffee cup she handed to him, wrapping his paws around the mug and ducking his head. He knew she was referring to the time he accompanied her up the mountain to look for those cherries in Moomingrandma’s recipe book. “Thank you then, ma’am.”

She nodded, inclining her head in kind and placed her own mug on the dinner table, tail moving behind her as she walked over to the cabinet and opened the doors, rummaging around. Snufkin took a couple of sips of his coffee, letting the beverage warm him up before he glanced again as she pulled out a sewing kit. Raising an eyebrow, he said nothing as she withdrew some cloth and sat down, beginning to sew.

The rain continued to poor down as Snufkin rested in the cushions of the Moomin’s couch, head turned so that he could look outside. His coffee was soon gone and the cup set on the side table, pulling his harmonica from his pants pocket, soon filling the room with a soft tune.

They didn’t need to speak. Moominmamma perhaps understood his need for alone time versus spending the time in the company of others more than her own son did, and Snufkin was thankful for that. His own mother was absentminded more often than not, her many children running riot around her feet, and she had often forgotten that about him, roping him into babysitting his younger siblings.

It wasn’t that he didn’t like the Mymble, but she could hardly give her children the motherly love that they all craved, Snufkin included. It was one of the reasons why he left.

Hours passed, until he heard the snap of a thread as she finished whatever it was she’d been making. Snufkin raised his head to look at her as she held it up to admire it, then stood from her seat and turning to look at him. “Snufkin dear, I think it’s time you took those bandages off. They can’t be good for your health.”

The harmonica nearly dropped from his paws as he drew it away from his mouth, tail flicking beside him on the couch as he stared, watching her come over. “How did you...”

“I saw them when you took your coat off.” Moominmamma had the item draped over her arm and handed it to him, pulling him up and pushing him in the direction of the downstairs bathroom. “Now go change before you hurt yourself.”

Snufkin fumbled with the sewn cloth, looking over his shoulder at her with some concern before he received a kind nod and an encouraging wave. Moominmamma then turned to pick up their coffee mugs and take them back into the kitchen, leaving him to walk into the bathroom and shut the door behind him.

Leaning against it, he contemplated sneaking out the window. It would mean leaving his beloved coat and hat behind, but he could find replacements later. Placing the item down on the vanity set, he reached and tugged his shirt off and over his head after removing his suspenders from his shoulders, looking in the mirror as he stared at the worn bandages around his chest.

Snufkin had never felt comfortable seeing himself, but he needed to as he twisted, finding the clasp, and began unwrapping the bandages and letting them fall to the floor. Thank the stars he didn’t have his mother’s or Mymble’s chests, small in comparison but still enough to be bothersome. In a world run by men, it had been his best bet to avoid trouble during some of his travels, before he found himself liking the way they flattened his chest.

He didn’t quite know what to call himself, but when he’d been mistaken for a boy several times, he didn’t bother correcting it. He still wasn’t sure, but Moomin and his friends accepted him as a boy, though he knew Little My sent him looks from time to time before she stopped altogether, as though wondering why her little sister was suddenly sporting a shorter haircut and carrying herself like a man, but not caring.

Snufkin was simply Snufkin. He hadn’t bothered telling anyone any different, and he got the feeling that they would simply shrug their shoulders and say “Okay”.

“Snufkin dear?” Moominmamma’s voice brought him out of his thoughts and he blinked, looking over his shoulder when he heard a knock on the door. “Are you having trouble? May I come in?”

Looking down at the sewn cloth, Snufkin turned his attention back to the door, watching it open slightly. His tail sweeped the floor behind him, anxiety swelling in his stomach before he swallowed. “Come in, Moominmamma.”

She stepped in, opening one eye when she closed the door to see him wrapping an arm around his chest. Her ears twitched atop her head, beaming at him. “There, doesn’t that feel better?”

“I suppose.” He looked down at himself, feeling more than a little naked as she came closer, setting her handbag down on the counter. “I can’t remember the last time I looked.”

“May I?” Mamma looked at him with a gentle knowing, an understanding, and he hesitated before letting his arm drop. She gently placed her paw at his undersides, then the side, and felt the front. “Mmm it doesn’t feel like anything’s damaged, although I’m no doctor of course, but I can give you one of grandma’s recipes to soothe anything you might feel later.” She gestured for the item and he handed it to her. “Arms up, bend.” Snufkin followed her instructions without question, letting her pull it over his head, and that was when he realised what it was. Moominmamma fixed it over his chest and around underneath it, frowning to herself as she hummed, tail swaying behind her before she pulled back, clapping her hands. “Take a look.”

Turning to the mirror, Snufkin paused, surprised. The cloth was a green colour, matching his usual attire, and it fitted around his bust perfectly. Snufkin’s paw twitched, his cheeks turning pink as he felt something prick the corner of his eye. He wiped it away before turning to look at her with a small smile. “Thank you, Moominmamma.”

“I’ve told you before, dear, just Mamma is fine.” She gave him a smile and pressed her paw to his cheek. “You can come to me anytime, you know that, right, Snufkin?”

He did now.

Hearing the front door open and Moomintroll’s voice calling out, Mamma looked over her shoulder and picked up Snufkin’s shirt, handing it to him and giving him a wink before returning her handbag to its usual resting place in the crook of her arm. She left him to put his shirt on and pull his suspenders up, turning his head to look at himself in the mirror.

“Snufkin!” Moomintroll’s excited voice reached him as he left the bathroom, suddenly finding himself with an armful of his best friend. Moomintroll’s tail wagged behind him as he babbled cheerfully about his fishing trip with his father, Snufkin raising his head to look as Moominpappa placed a bucket down on the dining table, looking at him with a knowing eye before turning to talk to Mamma, who smiled at him herself.

Moominhouse had never felt so warm.

**Author's Note:**

> as always, feel free to head over to tumblr and throw questions at me @genderfluidsnufkin


End file.
